• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds


 







Governor Lee grants county mayors the authority to require masks

Posted at 8:35 pm July 3, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Bill Lee

Note: This story was updated at 9:05 p.m.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Friday granted county mayors in most of Tennessee to require or recommend face masks.

The governor’s order, Executive Order 54, is meant to allow county mayors to respond to significant increases in COVID-19 cases.

Tennessee’s densely populated areas, including the Memphis and Nashville areas, continue to have many of the state’s COVID-19 cases.

But local governments want more flexibility to respond to rising cases, and that includes “setting stronger expectations around masks,” Lee said in a press release Friday evening.

“This targeted approach ensures we protect both lives and livelihoods and safely keep our economy open in Tennessee,” the governor said. “We encourage every Tennessean across the state to use a face covering or mask, make sure to socially distance, and wash hands frequently.”

Advertisement

The governor’s order applies to 89 of Tennessee’s 95 counties, including Anderson and Roane counties.

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank wasn’t immediately available Friday evening to comment about what Anderson County might do. It’s not clear if Anderson County was one of the local governments that might have requested more flexibility.

The other six of the 95 counties—Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Shelby, and Sullivan—have locally run health departments. They already have the authority to require masks.

Lee’s order said that wearing a mask or cloth face covering is a simple step that Tennessee residents can take to help slow the spread of the virus. That, in turn, will help prevent the state from having to take more drastic and disruptive actions such as closing businesses, which would be bad for the economy and job market, the governor said.

If county mayors were to require face masks, people would not be expected to wear one if they are:

  • inside their home or vehicle, unless they are transporting someone for hire;
  • a child 12 years old or younger;
  • someone who has trouble breathing because of an underlying health condition or another medical or health-related reason that prevents them from wearing a face covering;
  • someone who is incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the cloth face covering without help;
  • eating or drinking;
  • outdoors, unless they can’t substantially maintain an appropriate distance (usually six feet or more) from other people who are not from the person’s household;
  • working under conditions where appropriate social distancing from people outside of the person’s home is substantially maintained;
  • in situations where wearing a face covering would pose a safety or security risk;
  • in a house of worship unless required by that house of worship, but wearing a face covering in such locations is strongly encouraged; or
  • in a voting site for the purpose of voting or administering an election, although wearing a face covering in such locations is strongly encouraged.

The governor said COVID-19, a new illness caused by a new coronavirus, remains a threat to Tennessee residents, its health care systems, and economy.

“Each Tennessean should continue to protect themselves and others by following applicable health guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other leading medical experts to slow the spread of this virus, including practicing social distancing, effective personal hygiene practices, and ‘wear(ing) cloth face coverings in public settings and when around people who don’t live in your household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain,'” Lee’s press release said.

His order said the need to require or recommend a face covering in each of the 89 counties could depend upon the spread of COVID-19 there, and local governments are best able to make that decision based on the conditions in their communities.

The governor’s order urges people in Tennessee to wear face coverings in public places. Cloth face coverings can be created from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost, the order said. Cloth face coverings should not be placed on children younger than two years old, anyone with breathing problems, or anyone who is incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without help, the order said. It said surgical masks and N-95 respirators should be reserved for health care workers and first responders.

The order will remain in effect through 11:59 p.m. August 3.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or [email protected]

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

Copyright 2020 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Anderson County, COVID-19, Front Page News, Government, Health, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Bill Lee, COVID-19, face masks, order, Tennessee

Advertisements

 

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Government News

Council to consider accepting airport grants

This is an aerial image of a layout plan for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport at the Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority) The Oak Ridge City Council will consider … [Read More...]

Current status of city facilities due to COVID

Oak Ridge officials continue to ask residents to conduct municipal business over the phone and by phone when possible because of COVID-19. On Wednesday, the City of Oak Ridge released an update about city facilities … [Read More...]

Rep. Fleischmann tests positive for COVID

Chuck Fleischmann U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge, has tested positive for COVID-19. Fleischmann announced his positive diagnosis on … [Read More...]

Mason, an IDB member, community volunteer, dies of COVID complications

David Mason David Lane Mason, a member of the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and community volunteer, died of COVID-19 complications on Monday. He was 79. Mason was a former deputy director of environmental … [Read More...]

Tammy Dunn appointed Oak Ridge city attorney

Tammy Dunn The City of Oak Ridge has appointed Senior Staff Attorney Tammy Dunn as the next city attorney. Dunn assumes her new position this week, when current City Attorney Kenneth Krushenski retires, a press … [Read More...]

More Government

Recent Posts

  • Council to consider accepting airport grants
  • Police chief to speak to League of Women Voters on Tuesday
  • Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will feature ORHS principal
  • Controlled burns start this week on DOE land
  • Current status of city facilities due to COVID
  • Rep. Fleischmann tests positive for COVID
  • Oak Ridge man charged with second robbery
  • Mason, an IDB member, community volunteer, dies of COVID complications
  • Tammy Dunn appointed Oak Ridge city attorney
  • Which Wich closes

Recent Comments

  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Mark Caldwell on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Matt Bailey on Dodson also wants to serve as mayor pro tem
  • Tracy Powers on Planning Commission to consider Main Street apartments, plan revisions
  • johnhuotari on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • Levi D. Smith on Four incumbents re-elected to Oak Ridge City Council
  • samuel hopwood on Housing: Apartments proposed on former AMSE site
  • Matt Bailey on Robin Smith named Oak Ridge police chief

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2021 Oak Ridge Today